South Carolina Unemployment Benefits

Unemployment Resource

Eligibility

An individual must meet three requirements under the law with respect to wages to establish a weekly benefit amount.

• An individual must have been paid wages of at least $540 in covered employment during the high quarter of his base period.
• An individual must have been paid a minimum of $900 in covered employment during his base period.
• An individual's total base period wages must equal or exceed one and one-half times the total of his high quarter wages.

Individuals who file a weekly claim for benefits for any week must meet these eligibility requirements.

• Be unemployed or partially unemployed and be determined as eligible for benefits with respect to separation from the bona fide employer. Any earnings for a claimed week must be less than the worker's weekly benefit amount. Earnings will be deducted from unemployment benefits.
• Be separated through no fault of the worker from the bona fide employer, or
• Must have served any disqualification or must have requalified from any disqualification imposed.
• Be able to work.
• Be available for full-time work and willing to accept suitable work if offered.
• Be actively seeking full-time work each week.
• Report and register with the local Employment Office.

A worker whose employer is filing a weekly claim for him is considered job attached and is not required to make a work search or register with Job Service.

Fraud Detection
1-800-868-1488

The Unemployment Insurance Program audits claims each quarter to detect fraud and abuse. This is accomplished by crossmatching benefit payments with wages reported by employers. When a match occurs, the Form UCB-179 is sent to the employer to verify earnings. The information is requested on the basis of weekly benefits paid and the weekly earnings of the claimant.

File a claim

The South Carolina Employment Security Commission provides a quick way to file your weekly claims by telephone. The system is named TelClaim. It provides updated information and limits the number of visits to the claims office. You may use TelClaim to obtain general information about whether a check has been issued to you. Your call will be connected to a computer and you will hear a recording of updated information. You will use the telephone to claim your unemployment insurance weekly benefits by certifying that you have met the eligibility requirements each week.

Read the following instructions carefully before you make your first call.

To File By Telephone You Will Need:

• A touch-tone or pulse-dial telephone. If you use a pulse-dial telephone set the switch to touch-tone when the recorded voice instructs you to do so.
• Your social security number
• Your personal identification number (PIN)

Your personal identification number (PIN) can be any number you choose. You may use any four-digit number except, 0000 or 9999. Each time you call TelClaim, the computer will ask for your social security number. You will be asked to enter the four-digit number you choose to be your PIN. Use this number each time you call to claim weekly benefits, or to inquire about your claim. Your PIN should not be given to anyone, including family members. This protects your claim from others.

If you forget your PIN, and the TelClaim system says, "Your access to the system has been suspended," report to the local office for assistance.

On Sunday and Monday you will only be allowed to file your weekly claim for benefits. You are not allowed to inquire about a check on these two days in order to keep the telephone lines open for weekly claims to be filed.

If you want information about your claim or general unemployment information, you may call Tuesday through Saturday. The schedule will be the same for holidays.

Time Schedule For Calls:
6:00 a.m. to midnight

After you have called, entered your Social Security Number, and have identified yourself with your Personal Identification Number (PIN), listen carefully. You will be given the claim week ending date to be filed. You will be asked the following questions. It will also tell you how to answer the questions using the buttons on the telephone.

"Did you work during the week you are claiming? Press 1 for YES or 9 for NO. To repeat a question, Press 0." If you press 1 for yes to indicate you did work, the system will ask you how much you earned. Enter the number of dollars you earned during the week and press the Star* Key. Enter the number of cents and press the Star* Key again. If you earned $1,000 or more, enter $999.99

NOTE: If you did work during the week you are claiming, report your earnings for the week even if you have not received your pay. It is important you enter the amount you earned, not the amount you were paid. Failure to report your earnings may result in an overpayment. Intentional failure to report earnings can result in prosecution for fraudulently claiming unemployment benefits.

"Did you quit a job or were you dismissed from a job since you filed your claim? Press 1 for YES, or 9 for NO. To repeat a question, Press 0."

"Were you able to work, available for work, and looking for work as instructed by the claims office? Press 1 for YES, or 9 for NO. To repeat a question, Press 0."

The computer will repeat all of your answers and say:

• "Press 1 if these answers are correct. Press 9 if you want to change an answer."

If the answers are correct, do not hang up until the computer tells you, "Your claim has been accepted." If you hang up before this message, or if you are disconnected, you must call again to file your claim.

If you realize you have made a mistake after your claim has been accepted and you have hung up the telephone, you may call back and file your claim again correctly, as long as you call before 6:00 p.m. the same day. The TelClaim system will process the last call received.

When you would like information about your claim, call the TelClaim system. After you have called the TelClaim computer and entered your Social Security Number and PIN to identify yourself, the computer will tell you whether a check has been issued. If there is a problem with your claim, it will tell you to report to the claims office. It will also remind you when you are scheduled to report for an eligibility review interview.

To file a claim for unemployment benefits in South Carolina, call the claims center near you:

Source: South Carolina Employment Security Commission